Harper Court: Seven Fountains is a modern example of a classic Los Angeles design form—courtyard housing—that had its heyday in the 1920s. It’s just blocks away from some of L.A.’s original courtyard projects, including four by husband-and-wife architects

Who says you can't build spectacular multifamily housing in a dense, urban environment? Here's a project that features 20 rental units with 20 different floor plans and 20 private gardens on less than an acre, plus subterranean parking, four courtyards, lush landscaping, outdoor fireplaces, and, of course, those seven burbling fountains. No wonder that, despite the $3,500- to $7,000-per-month rents, there's little trouble keeping the units occupied.

All the crowd-pleasing Mediterranean-inspired touches are there—stucco walls, tile roofs, wrought-iron balconies, color-rich Malibu tiles—but they're put together in a sophisticated way that speaks more to L.A.'s rich design history and less to California's penchant for ersatz Spanish style.

“People love to be in an environment that has a sense of particularity and that's balanced by a sense of community,” says Stefanos Polyzoides, an architect whose love of courtyard housing resulted in his co-authoring a book on the subject, Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles: A Typological Analysis (Princeton Architectural Press). Polyzoides would no doubt appreciate the judges' take on his little jewel: “Terribly sophisticated ... a very quiet urbanism ... authentic space ... trying to really do something right.”